Recent advances in wireless communication technologies have resulted in an exponential increase in the demand for improved computing devices, consumer services, and communication bandwidth. To attempt to accommodate this growing demand, device manufacturers, service providers, and various intermediary entities, have been evolving in function by effectively changing the way they do business. One aspect of this change relates to the field of network access control. Generally, network access control involves a subscriber attempting to gain access to a network service(s) by providing access identity credentials to an authenticating network service provider for verification. In a scenario where the network service provider successfully verifies/authenticates the access identity of the subscriber based on the credentials provided, a corresponding level-of-access to network service(s) is granted for the subscriber.
By way of example, many global telecommunication service providers issue subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to their subscribers (or potential subscribers) to allow individual subscribers to insert the physical SIM card within their user equipment (UE) device(s) for the purpose of gaining access to the provider's network services, in accordance with a subscriber's service level agreement (SLA). As is known in the field, a SIM (which may also be referred to more specifically for different technologies as a USIM, ISIM, CSIM, etc.) is a component application of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) “smart card,” and this can be referred to collectively as a SIM card. In function, the SIM component securely stores an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), along with various cryptographic keys and other credentials, which can be used for network authentication.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) have been responsible for standardizing many hardware-based and software-based features, and improvements thereof, of modern SIM cards and devices. For example, the GSMA body recently proposed the use of an embedded UICC (eUICC) for the mobile machine-to-machine (M2M) industry. As is generally known in the field, M2M machines are designed to communicate with other M2M machines of the same type in a limited functional manner. However, modern telecommunications service providers and UE device manufacturers have tended to prefer the use of physical SIM cards for various practical reasons, including facilitating “hot-swapping” of an issued SIM card between two UE devices for the same mobile network operator (MNO), and facilitating hot-swapping of different MNO SIM cards in a UE device while roaming to a different geographic area, etc.
Nevertheless, the use of physical SIM cards leaves much to be desired for service providers and device manufacturers alike. For instance, it is difficult to update SIM card profile data without replacing a SIM card entirely, or necessitating a subscriber's visit to a local telecommunication service provider's storefront for assistance. Likewise, completely replacing a SIM profile of a SIM card is often impracticable. In many of these scenarios, significant additional costs are expended by service providers who are required to manufacture, procure, and/or reprogram, numerous physical SIM cards for routine subscriber activities (e.g., for subscribers roaming abroad, changing services or service providers, etc.) or for network infrastructure upgrades.
In consideration of the above-noted disadvantages, and others, it would be beneficial to employ a means for readily maintaining SIM data within a wireless communication device for one or multiple service providers. Further, it would be desirable to be able to transparently manage SIM resources at a UE device for both active and inactive SIM data, without negatively affecting/impacting UE device communications.